The present invention relates to a multiple-fiber optical component suitable for use with multiple optical fibers and having various functions and a method for manufacturing the same with ease and with a high accuracy.
Recently, with development of multiple-fiber optical cables, such as a ribbon fiber and improvement of wavelength division multiplexing technique and the like, the importance of multiple-fiber wavelength division multiplexers/demultiplexers, multiple-fiber optical couplers/splitters, and the like is significantly increased.
Conventionally, to form multiple-fiber optical components, a desired number of optical components are juxtaposed to each other, each with a single-fiber structure having a branch-path optical fiber obliquely spliced to a straight-path optical fiber, and a multiple-fiber optical connector. However, production of the conventional optical components having optical fibers obliquely spliced together needs, for instance, a jig for various axial alignments in the course of assembly of the components, so that these components are not so desirable as multiple-fiber optical components. Further, in a multiple-fiber optical system, multiple-fiber to single-fiber conversion is required for transmission of optical signals between a multiple-fiber ribbon and a single fiber. What is more, conventionally, a wavelength division multiplexing/demultiplexing process for an optical signal with more than two wavelengths needs two or more optical components, and a change in the operating wavelength necessitates a complete replacement of the optical components. In this regard, the conventional multiple-fiber optical components are inconvenient in designing optical systems.